Shopsmith Forums

mickyd wrote:With no access hole....makes the job all that much easier. You won't be working with your hand in the hole with no visual clues.

If your serious about attempting the work, have him give you the serial number of the unit. If it is higher than SN 309828, it will probably have the access hole. If it's lower than SN 303185, it probably won't. In between.....???? No access hole means you'll have to come up from the bottom which is no big deal.

If you consider dropping the motor/pan/SWITCH "EASIER"!:rolleyes:

ETC92GUY: KUDOS for stepping up!

IMHO ( or imho ) the motor pan isn't a problem. I didn't remove the headstock from the way tubes when I did mine. Put a 2x4 underneath it on the bench tubes, lifted the headstock with the way tube to drill press mode and you can access everything. With no access hole the power switch might bounce around a little, but it should'nt be a big deal.

In disassembling, I rate the biggest pain-in-the arses to be: getting the top drive system out ( lot's of pounding ) and that cursed set screw that holds the speed dial on.

In assembly, the most difficult is setting the gilmer belt tension right ( I compromised on that position ) getting the drive system back in, and the cursed set screw that holds the speed dial on........

........uh oh......I may have the makings of a poll.

Dennis - PMed you back. Check your Inbox.

etc92guy wrote:IMHO ( or imho ) the motor pan isn't a problem. I didn't remove the headstock from the way tubes when I did mine. Put a 2x4 underneath it on the bench tubes, lifted the headstock with the way tube to drill press mode and you can access everything. With no access hole the power switch might bounce around a little, but it should'nt be a big deal.

In disassembling, I rate the biggest pain-in-the arses to be: getting the top drive system out ( lot's of pounding ) and that cursed set screw that holds the speed dial on.

In assembly, the most difficult is setting the gilmer belt tension right ( I compromised on that position ) getting the drive system back in, and the cursed set screw that holds the speed dial on........

........uh oh......I may have the makings of a poll.

The 'cursed speed dial set screw' becomes less of a PITA if you use a straight allen wrench with a screwdriver like handle AND have previously glued a straw with one end over the set screw and the other end around the access hole!

My reluctance to dropping the motor pan has to do with installation and removal of the switch. The wires are too short and THE SWITCH MUST COME OUT! My SS being 230V requires both linecord wires and two motor wires. Next time I DO drop the pan, I will rewire(Lot of crumbly rubber insulated wires) so as to provide a disconnect to eliminate switch removal. Then dropping motor will be a piece of cake and provide better access to the speed control 'innards'.

JPG40504 wrote:The 'cursed speed dial set screw' becomes less of a PITA if you use a straight allen wrench with a screwdriver like handle AND have previously glued a straw with one end over the set screw and the other end around the access hole!

My reluctance to dropping the motor pan has to do with installation and removal of the switch. The wires are too short and THE SWITCH MUST COME OUT! My SS being 230V requires both linecord wires and two motor wires. Next time I DO drop the pan, I will rewire(Lot of crumbly rubber insulated wires) so as to provide a disconnect to eliminate switch removal. Then dropping motor will be a piece of cake and provide better access to the speed control 'innards'.

I don't have any trouble with the PITA setscrew as long as I have an extra long Allen wrench and a pair of pliers.
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I really like the idea of disconnects in there. Rewiring is a good time for many to jump up a size in all of the wires. Of course on yours running 230V the wire size is pretty much a non issue.
I sure wish they had put dual voltage motors in them from the beginning. I would run almost everything in the shop on the 230V (I'm an old geezer, I still call it 110 / 220V ). I always used a lot of 220V /230V / actually here if you hook a volt meter to an outlet it reads 117V /234V except on big holidays when everybody has 4 burners and an oven cooking a big meal... here on the farm. I had a Craftsman table saw (OK, I still have it, I can't let go of anything) that has a 3/4 HP motor on it. I was looking for a 1 HP or a 1 1/2HP motor for it since it just didn't have the power for heavy ripping of hard stuff. I finally ran a 230V line to it and switched the wiring over and it had power to waste.

JPG40504 wrote:The 'cursed speed dial set screw' becomes less of a PITA if you use a straight allen wrench with a screwdriver like handle AND have previously glued a straw with one end over the set screw and the other end around the access hole!

I use ball end hex keys and have never had any problem finding the set screw hex.
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robinson46176 wrote:I don't have any trouble with the PITA setscrew as long as I have an extra long Allen wrench and a pair of pliers.
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I really like the idea of disconnects in there. Rewiring is a good time for many to jump up a size in all of the wires. Of course on yours running 230V the wire size is pretty much a non issue.
I sure wish they had put dual voltage motors in them from the beginning. I would run almost everything in the shop on the 230V (I'm an old geezer, I still call it 110 / 220V ). I always used a lot of 220V /230V / actually here if you hook a volt meter to an outlet it reads 117V /234V except on big holidays when everybody has 4 burners and an oven cooking a big meal... here on the farm. I had a Craftsman table saw (OK, I still have it, I can't let go of anything) that has a 3/4 HP motor on it. I was looking for a 1 HP or a 1 1/2HP motor for it since it just didn't have the power for heavy ripping of hard stuff. I finally ran a 230V line to it and switched the wiring over and it had power to waste.

FYI I purchased my goldie over 55 years ago with a 230/115v motor. I had to 'special order it(MW did NOT stock them) but it was available as an option. Somebody had an earlier model(greenie?) and posted a request for help in rewiring it to 110v from 230v. So it appears it was available, but seldom purchased that way. I have NEVER had a shortage of power problem with my SS. Belt slippage, but never motor bog down!
Part of the 110/220, 115/230, 117/234 confusion is due to the options available to the power companies due to 3 phase distribution. A 230/115v Y connection produces 220v phase to phase. 117v on product labels was more prevelant 50 yrs ago.
The longer allen wrench is I think the reason we have less of a problem. Something about getting away from the dial(more room to manuever.

Boy, I can't get anything past you guys....I don't have a set of long allen wrenches.

Kudos to everyone. You guys are very, very good.

Kind of a sad update on the Gilmer belt repair. My father-in-law got a little confused and completely forgot that I and my brother-in-law were going to change the belt for him. Without any warning, he placed the ShopSmith in a free classified magazine asking $75. The first person that came to see it bought it but felt so guilty, he gave Dad $125 for it. My brother-in-law and I only found out about the sale several days after it happened. Needless to say we were shocked. I guess Dad didn't know the value of his old ShopSmith.

But, I want to thank everyone on this forum for information and offers to help. My brother-in-law and I decided not to discuss the "mistake" with Dad. No sense making him feel bad. Oh, well....

Dennis

bob_the_builder wrote:Kind of a sad update on the Gilmer belt repair. My father-in-law got a little confused and completely forgot that I and my brother-in-law were going to change the belt for him. Without any warning, he placed the ShopSmith in a free classified magazine asking $75. The first person that came to see it bought it but felt so guilty, he gave Dad $125 for it. My brother-in-law and I only found out about the sale several days after it happened. Needless to say we were shocked. I guess Dad didn't know the value of his old ShopSmith.

But, I want to thank everyone on this forum for information and offers to help. My brother-in-law and I decided not to discuss the "mistake" with Dad. No sense making him feel bad. Oh, well....

Dennis

Methinks the guy who bought it Knew!:D